French pianist Monique Haas recorded the piano works of Debussy and Ravel twice, once in the late '50s and early '60s for Deutsche Grammophon and again in the late '60s and early '70s for Erato. The later recordings are released here in this six disc set from Warner Classics. As on the earlier set, Haas' performances are elegantly stylish, technically impeccable, consummately musical, and quintessentially French. Pick any piece by either composer at random, and you'll see. Try her bright but sensual Suite Bergamasque with its ravishing Clair de lune or her brilliant and visionary Études with their astounding concluding Pour les accords. Or try her recklessly virtuosic Gaspard de la nuit with its frightening Scarbo or her sweetly swaying Valses nobles et sentimentales with its heartrending Épilogue. There are only two meaningful differences between Haas' recordings: in the earlier performance, she is more passionate and impetuous while in the later performances she is more measured and thoughtful.

One of the key German composers before Bach with more than 500 surviving individual pieces, Heinrich Schutz wrote mainly church music, and is credited with bringing the Italian style to Germany and continuing its evolution from the Renaissance into the early Baroque. Although he lived most of his long life in Germany, in his twenties Schutz made two visits to Venice. The first was between 1609 and 1613 when he was taught by Giovanni Gabrieli; and the second in the late 1620s to meet and possibly study under Monteverdi. The two trips greatly influenced Schutz's music as he absorbed and began to combine the ornate and theatrical Venetian style with the more understated Lutheran tradition in which he grew up. This album explores his solo cantatas alongside examples of the brilliant and virtuosic Venetian style instrumental music.

This recording presents an unedited early classical repertoire by the Venetian composer and violinist Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen (1745-1760). As an outstanding pupil at the Ospedale dei Mendicanti in Venice, she was allowed to study with Giuseppe Tartini in Padua, who wrote her a long letter in which he explained his methods of violin playing and practising. This letter was copied in Padua even before it was sent and printed in Italy around 1770, followed by translations into English, German and French.

This record production represents for me a kind of “viaticum” towards the return to a complete musical activity, but it is also a farewell to Emilia Fadini, a great musician and musicologist specialized in the study and performance of late Renaissance, Baroque and Classical repertoire, with whom I had the privilege of studying for almost twenty years. The pieces in this recording are the last ones we faced together and I feel like to have to dedicate her this work. This is a way to remember someone who was a teacher, a friend, as well as a solid point of reference and an inexhaustible source of inspiration for me as well as for many musicians who, at least in Italy, are actually involved in ancient music.

The sonatas and partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001–1006) are a set of six works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are sometimes referred to in English as the sonatas and partias for solo violin in accordance with Bach's headings in the autograph manuscript: "Partia" (plural "Partien") was commonly used in German-speaking regions during Bach's time, whereas the Italian "partita" was introduced to this set in the 1879 Bach Gesellschaft edition, having become standard by that time. The set consists of three sonatas da chiesa in four movements and three partitas (or partias) in dance-form movements. The 2nd Partita is widely known for its Chaconne, considered one of the most masterly and expressive works ever written for solo violin.

As a specialist of Baroque and classical eras, the albums Neville Marriner dedicated to modern music are quite rare among his discography, making them all the more interesting! This 1978 recording highlights two Genevan composers, the greatest Swiss figures of their generation. Ernest Bloch (famous for his hit for cello and orchestra Schelomo) composed a beautiful and lively neo-classical Concerto grosso for piano and strings, as for Frank Martin, one of his most celebrated compositions is the Petite Symphonie concertante and its unusual distribution – a double string orchestra accompanied by a piano, a harp and a harpsichord. Featuring Osian Ellis, Francis Grier, Philip Ledger, and Simon Preston.

Hans, le joueur de flûte is a ravishing opera, loosely based on the legend of Hamelin’s pied piper popularized notably by the Grimm Brothers, composed by Louis Ganne and premiered in Monte-Carlo in 1906. Rarely recorded, its best rendition is undoubtedly this beautiful 1967 performance with the best French singers of their time, including Liliane Berton and the amazing baritone Michel Dens in the title-role.

Schubert: "Wanderer" Fantasy (2019 edition, 1989 edition), Impromptu Op. 90, Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11, No. 18, Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3, Others recorded from 1988-2021.

One of the greatest string quartets of the 20th-century, the - 100% Austrian - Alban Berg Quartett remains famous for their unsurpassable renditions of the great Viennese masters. The ensemble notably put on record the supreme Beethoven cycle twice, once in studio, once in the Wiener Konzerthaus. Enjoy large excerpts of these milestone recordings, coupled with late masterpieces of Schubert.

The works of Schubert are central to Elisabeth Leonskaja's repertoire - and her interpretations of his work have been described as "essential". Born in the Soviet Union, where her greatest mentor was Sviatoslav Richter, she moved in 1978 to Vienna. She has said that: "In Schubert, there are things that any average Viennese person will understand better than I do … I, though, have to think about them carefully. In Schubert, profound matters are expressed with a lightness of touch."

Resonus is pleased to present this significant new recording of vocal works by the early-twentieth century Czech composer, Pavel Haas. Featuring four song cycles composed by Haas at various stages in his life, this captivating album includes the world premiere recording of Fata Morgana, Op. 6 – Haas’s first major work composed following studies with Leoš Janáček in 1922. Pianist Lada Valešová is joined by an exceptional array of singers as well as the acclaimed Navarra Quartet in a vivid portrait of this neglected composer.

Erin Morley is one of today's most sought after coloratura sopranos, and her debut recital album presents a thoughtfully curated program which mirrors a stroll through a garden, delving into rich repertoire inspired by flowers, birds, and nature. Morley, known for her operatic roles, draws on connections to the natural world, offering a mix of well-known pieces, contemporary compositions, and hidden gems. A notable feature is the premiere recording of Ricky Ian Gordon's "Huit Chansons de Fleurs," a contemporary song cycle exploring themes of death, resurrection, fragrance, and the fleeting nature of beauty, adding a layer of poignancy to an album which features a diverse selection of vocal repertoire. Among the album's highlights is Saint-Saëns's "La Libellule," a rarely heard gem capturing the agile movement of a dragonfly. Sullivan's "Rose-in-Bloom" stands out as the first to present the aria in its original key, the heights of the final cadenza just one example of Morley’s extraordinary performance of the repertoire. The program also includes compositions by Rachmaninov, Zemlinsky, and Milhaud, exploring further connections to the themes of blossoms and birds. "Rose in Bloom" is an exploration of nature's influence on music, a testament to Erin Morley's artistry and originality, and a delightful journey through a garden of musical encounters.

This album aims to reveal or remind of the unique beauty of Robert Schumann's late compositions, characterized by an evolving writing style and a musical discourse rich in emotions and history. The alleged madness of Schumann should not be simplistically attributed to his music or his creative genius. On the contrary, this aspect adds a unique depth to his work.

Guitarist from Rome, Marina Tomei is among all the most active young Italian guitarists in the world music scene.

The 18th century had a dynamic musical scene in which much experimentation went alongside respect for accepted traditions. A wide range of hybrid forms emerged in the wake of the French dance suite and the new Italian solo sonata: not only sonatas with divergent forms and suites in which French character titles suddenly gave way to Italian tempo indications, but also everything in between. Korneel Bernolet here presents an anthology of European 'compiled' sonatas in the form of or derived from suites, alongside contrasting compositions that sought the true sonata form. He plays the Joannes Daniel Dulcken magisterial 1747 single-keyboard harpsichord, whose ambassador and titular player he is.